Anakin Skywalker

Discovered as a slave on Tatooine by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker had the potential to become one of the most powerful Jedi ever, and was believed by some to be the prophesied Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. A hero of the Clone Wars, Anakin was caring and compassionate, but also had a fear of loss that would prove to be his downfall.

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GALLERY //

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HISTORY //

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC

Along with his mother Shmi, Anakin Skywalker was a slave on Tatooine, owned by junk dealer Watto. When Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks, and Naboo handmaiden Padmé came to Watto’s shop looking for parts to repair their starship, Anakin befriended them. Unable to afford the parts they needed, Anakin devised a plan to help his new friends: he would enter the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace and give the winnings to Qui-Gon. While risky, Qui-Gon agreed, betting with Watto and adding higher stakes -- Anakin’s freedom. Qui-Gon realized that Anakin was Force-sensitive, and upon his victory in the race, informed Anakin he was free and could train to become a Jedi. The boy was overjoyed, but afraid to leave his mother behind; indeed, Yoda sensed this when Anakin was brought before the Jedi Council, and it was this fear that led to Anakin being denied entry into the Order. Qui-Gon was shocked at the decision, but told Anakin to watch him and stay close in lieu of actual training. Eventually, Qui-Gon, his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé (now revealed to be Queen Amidala), Jar Jar, and Anakin went to Naboo, hoping to stop an invasion by the Trade Federation. There, Anakin unwittingly found himself in a Naboo starfighter, dogfighting with battle droids and destroying the Droid Control Ship. Qui-Gon fell in battle to the Sith Lord Darth Maul, and with his dying wish, asked Obi-Wan to train the boy. The Jedi Council agreed, and Anakin was accepted into the Order as Obi-Wan’s apprentice. He also began a friendship with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was quite impressed by the boy’s Force abilities.

Ten years after the Battle of Naboo, the Jedi Council and Supreme Chancellor assigned Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to protect Senator Padmé Amidala after an assassination attempt on her life. Anakin was deeply attracted to her, and a love developed between the two. It was a dangerous path, as the Jedi Code forbade attachments and romantic relationships. At the same time, Anakin began to suffer from nightmares and visions that his mother was in pain, dying; despite Obi-Wan’s orders to stay on Naboo with Padmé, he left for Tatooine to rescue Shmi, Padmé in tow. Upon arrival, he found that Shmi had been kidnapped by Sand People. Anakin eventually located their camp and found his mother, where she died in his arms; enraged, the Jedi unleashed an inner fury never before seen, and slaughtered every Tusken he found. He buried Shmi at her husband’s homestead, and then left for Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, who was being held by Separatists. There, he and Padmé were captured and sentenced to die, along with his Master. The three staved off the execution, rescued by Jedi and the Republic’s new clone army, and pursued the Separatist leader, Count Dooku. Anakin and Obi-Wan dueled the former Jedi in a hangar, but were no match; Dooku defeated both and severed Anakin’s arm. Yoda arrived just in time to prevent Dooku from delivering a final strike, but the Sith Lord eventually escaped. After recovering from his injuries, including the replacement of his severed arm with a mechanical one, Anakin retreated to Naboo with Padmé where they were secretly married.

Now that the Clone Wars had begun, Jedi became generals and commanders in the war against the Separatists. Aware of Anakin’s shortcomings and his tendency to forge strong emotional attachments, Yoda assigned Anakin a Padawan learner: Ahsoka Tano. Yoda hoped that Skywalker would learn how to let go of his student as she grew, which was key for Anakin. While Anakin bristled at first to this appointment, a strong bond grew between teacher and student. They had many adventures together, and as Ahsoka matured, so did Anakin. But Ahsoka eventually became disillusioned and left the Jedi Order, an act which Anakin regretted.

The Clone Wars continued, and Anakin became a hero and grew vastly in power. Upon returning to Coruscant from a daring rescue of the Supreme Chancellor, the Jedi Knight found that Senator Padmé Amidala, his secret wife, was pregnant. Shortly thereafter, he began suffering visions that she would die in childbirth. Anakin was determined to prevent his dreams from coming true as they had with his mother; at the same time, the Jedi Council and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had become distrustful of each other, with Anakin caught in the middle. As Anakin’s confusion and anxiety grew, Palpatine told him a Sith legend that spoke of the ability to stop people from dying. Entranced, Anakin was desperate to learn this power. Palpatine revealed himself to be a Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, and promised to train him in the ways of the dark side.

Anakin eventually succumbed to this temptation, maiming former ally Mace Windu to save Sidious. The dark side Master claimed the mantle of Emperor, and Anakin led the Empire’s eradication of the Jedi Order as Darth Vader, Sith Lord. Against his wishes, Padmé followed him to the lava planet Mustafar, where he had just ended the Clone War by destroying the Separatist leaders. She confronted Anakin about all he had done; the new Sith claimed that all his acts, no matter how terrible, were done so he would be strong enough with the dark side to save her. But having tasted this power, he now had greater ambitions: to overthrow the newly-minted Emperor and rule the galaxy with his wife. Padmé was repulsed, and with the appearance of Obi-Wan (who had stowed away on her ship), Anakin assumed his wife had betrayed him, and he Force choked her. Padmé was left unconscious, and Anakin and his former Master dueled. In the end, Anakin was dismembered and left with terrible burns, cursing his old friend and becoming a being of pure hate. Recovered on the banks of a lava river by the Emperor, Anakin was encased in sinister black armor that kept him alive, and he truly became Darth Vader. Padmé, having lost the will to live, died after giving birth to twins -- Luke and Leia -- and Anakin was left heartbroken and more machine than man.

GALACTIC CIVIL WAR

As Darth Vader, Anakin spread fear throughout the galaxy and acted as the Emperor’s dark enforcer. But Anakin Skywalker, the courageous hero, was not truly dead. After battling his son Luke Skywalker in the presence of the Emperor, the young Jedi’s compassion for his father awakened the long-dormant good in the Sith Lord. Vader saved Luke from the Emperor and killed his evil Master, once again becoming Anakin Skywalker. But he suffered mortal wounds from the Emperor’s Force lightning, and knew that his end was near. He shared a vital final moment with his son, removing his mask so he could see Luke with his own eyes, and slipped peacefully away into the Force. Back on Endor, Anakin reunited with old friends Yoda and Obi-Wan, watching over Luke and his friends as they celebrated the galaxy’s new freedom.

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A legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker, served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars, and guided Luke Skywalker as a mentor.

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Ahsoka Tano, a Togruta female, was the Padawan learner to Anakin Skywalker and a hero of the Clone Wars. Alongside Anakin, she grew from headstrong student into a mature leader. But her destiny laid along a different path than the Jedi.

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Padmé Amidala was a courageous, hopeful leader, serving as Queen and then Senator of Naboo -- and was also handy with a blaster. Despite her ideals and all she did for the cause of peace, her secret, forbidden marriage to Jedi Anakin Skywalker would prove to have dire consequences for the galaxy.

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Luke Skywalker was a Tatooine farmboy who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known. Along with his friends Princess Leia and Han Solo, Luke battled the evil Empire, discovered the truth of his parentage, and ended the tyranny of the Sith.

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Princess Leia Organa was one of the Rebel Alliance’s greatest leaders, fearless on the battlefield and dedicated to ending the tyranny of the Empire. Daughter of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, sister of Luke Skywalker, and with a soft spot for scoundrels, Leia ranks among the galaxy’s great heroes.

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Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Darth Sidious restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. Living a double life, Sidious was in fact Palpatine, a Naboo Senator and phantom menace. He slowly manipulated the political system of the Galactic Republic until he was named Supreme Chancellor -- and eventually Emperor -- ruling the galaxy through fear and tyranny.

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A venerable if maverick Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn was a student of the living Force. Qui-Gon lived for the moment, espousing a philosophy of "feel, don't think -- use your instincts." On Tatooine, Qui-Gon discovered a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker who was strong in the Force. Sensing the boy's potential, Qui-Gon liberated Anakin from slavery. The Jedi Master presented Anakin to the Jedi Council, but they deemed the boy too old to begin training and dangerously full of fear and anger. They refused to allow Qui-Gon to train Anakin, but rescinded their decision to fulfill Qui-Gon's dying wish.

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The mother of Anakin Skywalker was also a brave and resilient woman who survived life as a slave to become a Tatooine moisture farmer. Shmi surrendered her son to the Jedi Order, putting him on a path to become one of the greatest Jedi. Her death at the hands of Tusken Raiders became a critical step on Anakin's journey to the dark side.

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Yoda was a legendary Jedi Master and stronger than most in his connection with the Force. Small in size but wise and powerful, he trained Jedi for over 800 years, playing integral roles in the Clone Wars, the instruction of Luke Skywalker, and unlocking the path to immortality.

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C-3PO is a droid programmed for etiquette and protocol, built by the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker, and a constant companion to astromech R2-D2. Over the years, he was involved in some of the galaxy’s most defining moments and thrilling battles -- and is fluent in over six million forms of communication.

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A resourceful astromech droid, R2-D2 served Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker in turn, showing great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils. A skilled starship mechanic and fighter pilot's assistant, he formed an unlikely but enduring friendship with the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.

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At the time of their introduction, the Republic clone troopers represented the future of galactic warfare. Far superior to battle droids, the clone troopers formed the backbone of the Republic's new military that waged war against the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. So symbolic were they of the times, the galaxy-wide conflict that saw their debut took its name from their ranks: the Clone Wars.